Faster then a fist
by AFandomLostInTheEcho
Summary: Barry Allen is a normal man with an anything but normal gift. He ends up pushing his luck and getting himself hurt, but he heals quickly, so his friends assume he will be fine. Barry isn't so sure. Some swearing eventually, and some personal OC's of mine. Please comment suggestions or ratings if you can.
1. Muffins are life

**Hey guys! So here's my first DC comics The Flash fanfiction, based off of the television version only. I created the character Martha, and her power was from my head alone. If I find out that her power has already been used in the comics, I will change it. Please enjoy, and if I get enough reviews, which I won't because I suck, I'll post more. Suggestions are welcomed. **

Man. He really needed to learn the meaning of 'not invincible.'

Barry Allen was eating an egg in his lab, looking over some files on his computer, but when his phone started to ring, he let out a loud and dramatic sigh. Barry Loved his job. He loved running, and he loved helping people. But he also loved egg . Reluctantly, he placed his muffin down on its wrapper and dug his phone out of his pocket. Without looking at the called I.D., he pressed a button and placed the phone to his ear.

"Can I finish my muffin or is someone dying?" He asked. There was a momentary pause before the other line spoke in a female voice, "What's up with you? You sound grumpy." Barry sighed again. "No, I'm...I'm just tired. So much work is piled up for me to do over here, and I've got my other job, so I have to keep eating which doesn't look good for me and is costly and annoying but I do like food so not to much complaint there. Plus, I don't like keeping stuff from Iris, or anybody for that matter. But ya. It's just... Ya. I'm tired. Not much sleep last night, or the night before." _Or the night before that..._ Of course, Barry didn't dare mention that part. "So, what's up?"

Barry could practically feel Caitlin narrowing her eyes over the phone. "We found another meta-human hybrid, but this one seems relatively nice. Annoying, but nice. Her name is Martha, and we found her and brought her in to STAR labs to better see what she can do. We were hoping you could join us."

Barry nodded over the phone. "Sounds good to me. Be there in ten, I've just gotta finish something up." He hung up the phone and placed it back in his pocket, once more picking up his muffin. It was so close to his mouth he could almost taste it. But that would have just been to good to be true.

"EH HEM," a loud, throat-clearing sounded made its way into his lab. He closed his eyes from behind the muffin and dropped it back on its wrapper.

"How much of that did you..." He started.

"Hear? Oh, trust me Barry Allen when I say 'enough'."

Barry's hand connected with his forehead as he stared at the suspicious and slightly worried face of Iris, his adopted father's daughter.

Iris walked forward and leaned froward on his desk; she wore a laced pink shirt with a dark pink bra strap showing on one elbow, with a white skirt on her legs and a bowed hair beret in her curly hair. "You, uh, look nice today," Barry told her. In all honesty, she really did, but Barry knew that she already had a boyfriend. He leaned back in his chair, reaching for a sip of his coffee.

"Do NOT try to soften up to me, Barry. What other job? What do you not like keeping from he? Why are you so tired? Are you sick?" Iris asked, her voice harsh but rational.

Barry didn't know how he was going to get out of this one. He decided to play it safe. He subtly and very, very quickly snatched his phone out of his pocket and, hiding the phone under his desk, dialled his own work number. The phone resting on his shelf from his left hand side started to ring, and he stood up abruptly. "I should get that," he told her. Avoiding her deathly stare, he walked towards the phone, lifting it and pretending to take and important call.

"Hello... Okay... What? No... Sure... Okay, be there soon, bye," Barry ended the 'call' and faced Iris. "I've... Ah... I've got to go." He told her with a fake, rueful tone, backing away towards the door.

"Barry," Iris spoke softly, but he could still easily hear her. Her gaze looked pleading and worried, as though she knew whatever it was she thought he may be doing was dangerous. Barry looked away from her and stared at the floor, clenching his fists. "I've got to go," he murmured. Then, as soon as he was out of her and other people in the building's view, he took off running towards STAR labs. He reached there in a matter of seconds, halting to a stop next to Cysco and balancing himself out.

"Heya, Barry. How was that muffin of yours?" He teased. Barry shook his head.

"Didn't get to finish it, but it was damn good while it lasted," Barry replied.

"So, where's..."

"Martha?" Cysco provided, and Barry snapped his fingers and nodded.

"Ya. What's he power, anyways?" He asked, looking around for Cate. She and this Martha girl where not in the immediate lab room.

Cysco clapped him on his shoulder. "She and Cate are in the bathroom doing girl things, whatever that is. Oh, and she can teleport objects with her mind."


	2. Suspicions and stares

**Cate? Caitlin? Cysco? AM I SPELLING ANY OF THESE NAMES CORRECT?! I may never know. So here's the next chapter. And on the last chapter I meant to say he was eating an egg mc muffin, not an egg. Sorry. **

"Hey Cate, hello... Martha?" Barry greeted, hoping he correctly remembered the girls name. Martha smiled at him, and Cate nodded in greeting before walking over to her desk, where as Martha extended a hand that Barry shook.

"Hi. Barry, right? Nice to meet you." Martha's smiling face dimmed and she grew serious for a moment, slightly leaning forwards. "I need to speak to you in private afterwards." She breathed quietly, her voice harsh. Then her face lit up again, and she talked in a normal voice again, standing straight once more. "How crazy are these powers, huh? It's awesome. I heard you can run, like, really fast. How did you find out you could do that? I found out I could teleport things when I meant to throw a teddy bear at my annoying little sister and it didn't soar through the air, but instead landed gently atop of her head. What's up with that? Cate told me it was because I breathed in a toxic smoke caused by some particle thingy. Weird how smoke can do that, huh?"

Barry looked over Martha's shoulder and made an _oh my god does she even need to breathe_ face at Cate. Cate smiled at and mouthed _I know_ back to him. Barry looked back at Martha.

"That's, um, interesting. So, you can teleport things? Like, move them with your mind?" He conformed, his question sounding like an answer. Martha nodded with a "yup."

"Cool. So, um, hey, can I ask you something in private?" He asked her, tilting his head towards the door. He remembered how Martha's face had gone from joyful to serious and her voice cold and demeaning in a matter of seconds. He wanted to know if she was truly how the others were seeing her, or if it was just an act. Martha nodded furiously and said "that'd be great!"

Barry gave her a cautious look, then faced Cysco and Cate. "Guys, I'm just gonna go talk to Martha outside for a moment."

Barry and Martha headed out the door, and Cysco and Cate were left starting at where they once stood.

"That was a bit... Off," Cysco stated, scratching the back of his head and leaning back on his desk. Cate nodded. "Ya. Barry looked a bit... Concerned. Almost worried. Maybe he doesn't trust her." She said with a shrug. Cysco shrugged as well. "No clue. But it sure was weird."

They were silent a moment before Cysco asked, "should we..."

"Ease drop?" She provided. "Ya. Probably."

"So, um, why the dark voice when you said 'I need to talk to you'?" Barry asked, standing next to the STAR labs outer wall. His red shirt stood out from the silver outline of STAR labs, and his black pants did him no favours.

Martha, however, was wearing an orange laced long sleeve shirt, with a purple skirt and a red, flowery head band pulled back into her pitch black hair. Her skin was a light brown colour, and her eyes a bright green.

"Because I do need or talk to you. In private. So, here's my question: who else has powers?" She asked him, her voice cold again.

Cysco and Cate were inside STAR lab still, listing in to their conversation by using the security footage with built in sound monitors. They watched Martha's expression go from happy and excited to cold as soon as she stepped outside of the building, and Barry leaned against the silver wall of STAR lab. His expression was unreadable.

"Powers? I thought you were gonna say 'where's the best place to put a bomb' or something," Barry told her, his voice slightly giddy.

Martha narrowed her eyes. "I mean, who else has powers that you are aware of? That aren't dead?" She asked.

Barry thought for a moment. "Well, there's you, and Captain Freeze, or whatever it was Cysco called him. And the Mist, but we've go him locked up. And actually quite a few others. Why? Do you know anybody else?" He asked.

Martha shrugged, her smile returning. "Nope. Just wanted to know exactly who you knew."

Barry narrowed his eyes. "Why?" He repeated, his voice slightly deeper than normal.

Martha held her hands to her chest in surrender. "Look, okay, I do know one other person who has a power, and I just wanted to make sure he wasn't on your 'catch or kill' list. He's a good guy. Hey, wanna meet him?" She finished.

_That's kind of contradicting,_ Cysco thought to himself as he watched the security footage, and he could tell that Barry was thinking the same thought by the way his eyebrows pinched together.

"Uh, sure, why not. I don't understand your previous point though, but whatever. Where is he?" He asked, sounding slightly unsure.

Martha just smiled sweetly at him. "Come on. I'll drive you." She started to walk away from Barry and STAR labs, not looking back to check if Barry was following.

"Uh, I, um..." Barry started, meaning to protest, but he really didn't see himself doing anything else later unless and emergency came up, and figured it would be good to meet the guy and make sure he was as good as Martha deemed him to be. Barry wasn't even sure if Martha was as good as she deemed herself to be.

"What the hell." He said, then pushed himself off the side of the wall where he was leaning, walking normally towards Martha.

From inside STAR labs, Cysco and Cate stared at the retreating form of Barry Allen on the camera.

"It... Doesn't feel like he's going to meet that guy and their going to have ice cream and sing campfire songs together. Were missing something." Cate said, thinking to herself. Cysco hesitated before he turned to her. "You still wanna follow them?" He said, puffing his cheeks out. Cate didn't say anything. She turned off the security footage then walked out of the security video room, heading back to the main lab. Cysco put down the pen he had been twirling in his hand, following Cate out of the room.

**So there's that chapter! Geez, I wasn't even sure if I was going to do this, but I got one very inspiring review that made me feel giddy and smiling for the rest of the day, so this chapter was for the person who left that review. I'm sorry if this chapter didn't reach standards. I'm not sure what direction to fully take this story in even though I have a vague idea of where I want it to end up. This is why suggestions and prompts are encouraged and welcomed. Please leave a review telling me what you thought about this chapter or what you think I could do with this if you have the time and do not mind. Thanks so much for reading and see you next time!**


	3. The sugar cookies of doom

**So apparently it's Caitlin and Cisco... So I only got the spelling for Cisco wrong. I shall fix that from now on. Anyways, here is the next chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, I don't think you know just how much it means to me. Please enjoy this chapter, and sorry it took so long. Also, in the next chapter, I'm going to put some hurt and tortured Barry in, I'm not sure how much. So if your not a fan of that stuff, there's your warning..., **

The car ride was... Interesting. Martha asked him very oddly personal questions every now and then, but would always recover from the awkwardness and make a strangely fitting statement about whatever. At one point she asked him what his favourite kind of grass is.

"What?" Barry exclaimed, perplexed. Martha shrugged, not looking away from the road. "You know, grass. Green grass, yellow grass, prickly grass, soft grass, buggy grass, whatever. I like the buggy grasses," Martha said.

It took Barry a moment before he could collect himself. "Uh... I... Umm... Green grass? I... Don't really think about it," he confessed, chuckling awkwardly. Martha made a_ hmmnn_ sound before harshly turning the car into a driveway. Barry was surprised at how quickly the car turned, but when he saw where they were pulling up, he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. It was a bright yellow apartment building, with white pipes and stripes lining the sides.

Barry didn't know why he felt disappointed. He didn't even know what he expected, but he didn't expect something so... Normal. He figured she was going to take him to a black mansion of death or a cave with a deeply sentimental butler and a pet man-eating bear or something. He didn't even know why he figured those things. Martha seemed nice enough, and despite her creepy moments, Barry felt that she was trust worthy. It's the man that she was going to introduce him to that Barry had a bad feeling about.

"Well," Marta whispered, parking the car on the side of the street. "This is it. This is where dear old Timmy lives." She opened the side door of her generic silver Honda and stepped outside; Barry copied her, stepping out onto the pavement and hearing a load crunch. He looked down to where he stepped and saw a liquor bottle, smashed to pieces and scattered across the curb and on the sidewalk. Barry frowned at the broken glass. "Nice part of the neighbourhood he lives in."

Martha walked around the car and over to him, staring at the glass and smiling sadly. "Ya. It used to be so innocent. What a world we live in, huh?"

Martha had called Tim before they got into the car, but Barry couldn't hear what they were saying. Barry wondered if it was good or bad things.

They walked up to the apartment, and after Martha typed in a code onto the allowance panel, the building allowed them in, and they headed up the stairs.

"So, remind me before I say something stupid, what exactly can Tim do again?" Barry asked. Tim, the man they were going to see, had a power as well as him and Martha. Martha told him what his power was in the car, but Barry was still recovering from Martha's _'do babies get songs stuck in their heads' _inquiry that he forgot. Barry wanted to meet the guy to see if he was going to be a threat to others or not. Martha wanted him to meet Tim to... Actually, Barry had no clue why Martha wanted them to meet. His best bet was for closure or for support. Or something else entirely.

"Oh, he can put people to sleep by touching their heads, cheeks or necks. Pretty cool, huh? What if he was kissing somebody on the edge of a cliff and he grabbed the back of the other dudes head and Tim's smooch partner fell asleep in his arms mid-kiss but he was so heavy that they fell over the cliff and died?" Martha ranted, reaching the end of the staircase and walking straight down an isle. Barry stopped walking and stared at her, his mouth slightly agape. Martha turned back to look at him, tilting her head. "What? Too much?"

"So what's the plan?" Cisco asked, shoving a mouthful of dry mini-boxed _frosted flakes_ into his mouth. Cisco and Caitlin were in Cisco's messy silver car, parked outside of a yellow and white apartment that Barry and Martha had walked into.

Caitlin made an _ugh_ sound. "God, do you _ever_ stop eating?" She leaned back in her seat. "I don't know, just sit here and make sure nothing bad happens to Barry."

Cisco narrowed his eyes at her, swallowing his cereal before saying, "He can take care of himself, ya know. Better than anybody else could, I bet. Plus, Martha seemed nice enough."

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Yes, but we barely know her, and we certainly don't know whoever it is their meeting. I don't know, I just have a bad feeling."

"And I have a good feeling that started out as a bad feeling, but I think that all that that bad feeling was was doubt. I now have no doubt. Or, well, at least less of it," Cisco persisted. "Okay, fine, whatever. Were still staying until they leave," Said Caitlin.

Cisco shrugged. "I ship it," he whispered a bit too loudly to himself. Caitlin turned to face him, sitting up again. "What?"

Cisco looked alarmed that she heard his for a split moment before he smirked smugly. "I ship it." He repeated. "It means I think they would make a good couple."

Caitlin scoffed, looking back out the window, staring at the innocent yellow and white apartment Barry was doing God knows what in. "What?" Cisco stated, sounding oddly defensive. "They _would_ make a good couple."

Caitlin said nothing to that. She had nothing to say, anyways. All she could do was hope she was being as paranoid as Cisco said she was being. After all, Barry could look after himself.

...right?

Martha knocked on Tim's door loudly and repeatedly until it opened. In the door frame was a surprisingly young man, probably about 19 to 20, with bright yellow hair that matched his... Scarf? Barry blinked twice as he assessed the mans clothing. He was wearing a plain white top dotted with what looked like flour and a top fat yellow scarf was wrapped around his neck and draping down to his black belt and leggings.

Barry didn't know why, but the mans clothing made him look like a bee, and he must have noticed Barry staring down his life choices, because he looked himself over and laughed. "Hiya! I'm Tim, and you must be Barry. Martha told me you were coming over. GRRRRREAT to meetcha! Yes, I know, I'm wearing too much. What can I say? I'm busy as a bee today. Oh, and hello Martha! You look gorgeous, as per always," Tim complemented. He beckoned for them to come inside, stepping out of the way and sitting on his soft brown couch. Barry shared a look with a smiling Martha and headed inside, sitting down in the solo part of the couch set, where as Martha sat one cushion away from Tim.

Any doubts Barry had about this guy were gone. He seemed just as innocent as his apartment.

"So, hello Tim. I'm, uh, Barry, but I think you know that, so-"

"Oh, it's so nice to meet you! So, Martha told me she was bringing you over, but she didn't give me anything else. So what brings you two here?" He asked, his voice unwavering and cheerful. Also, Barry noticed a hint of exhaustion in his tone.

Before Barry could say anything, Martha explained the situation quickly, "Well, you have a power and I have a power and guess what? So does Barry, and he's that streak on the news he can run really fast it's insane I thought we should all get to know each other since we all are the same in our own ways!"

Barry blinked. She really could talk fast, however, Tim looked unperplexed.

"Wow. That's amazing! Hey, would you like something to drink or eat? Ooo, have something to eat! I just made a whole batch of sugar cookies. It's my boyfriends birthday on Sunday, and he likes his sweets, but there's plenty extra! I'll get you one right now!" Tim exclaimed, standing up and heading for what was presumably the kitchen.

He came back a moment later, holding two un-iced sugar cookies in his hands and handed one to Martha, who made a small_ OOH_ sound when it was shoved into her hand, and the other one to Barry, who took it gratefully. After all, he was kind of hungry.

"Thank you," Barry thanked, taking a bit of his cookie, and feeling a bit uncomfortable with how Tim watched him. He looked almost like he was waiting for something, so Barry swallowed and said, "Wow, that's really good."

Tim smiled, sitting down again, but he still looked like something was incomplete to him. Martha also was watching him, but her expression was more subtle.

Barry finished his cookie as Tim spoke. "So, Barry, tell me a little about yourself. Favourite foods, places to be, any weaknesses or family, do tell."

Barry shrugged. "Well, I..." He started, but all the the sudden his head started to feel dizzy. "I..." He tried to ignore his head, but he was surprised at how one second he was perfectly fine, and the next he was feeling like he was falling out of a plane, falling down, down, down...

"Barry?" He heard Martha say, but her voice sounded far away. Barry stood up, far too quickly, and his head felt like it was going to explode. GET OUT, he could hear his brain screaming, but he wasn't sure if it was talking to him or to something else. He tried to make his way to the door, and he stumbled at least two steps away from the couch and from Tim and Martha until he felt himself give out and slip into darkness.

Tim and Martha watched as Barry fell to the floor. "How much did you put in that cookie? He has such a high immune system, I'm surprised it worked so well," said Martha after a moment of silence. Tim chuckled. "A full bottle. Don't worry, I baked that cookie in a separate batch from the others, so you'll be fine."

Martha smiled, "Oh, I know. I trust you. So, what do we do with speedy Gonzalo over here?" She asked, standing up and walking over to Barry's motionless body.

Tim smirked evilly. "Oh, great things, Martha. Great things."


	4. It could be worse

**So here's my next chapter. Wow. I'm a really bad writer, and I'm so sorry about that. I'm trying ;.; so, ya. I don't know where I'm going with this chapter or story, and I'm making it up as I go, so I'm sorry if plot holes and mistakes are easily found. Please tell me if they are so we can cringe together. Anyways, thanks for all the super nice reviews and one possibly nice review but I couldn't tell if it was sarcasm or not, either way, they warmed my heart. Thank you. Please try and enjoy this chapter, but I warn... It'll be difficult. Lots of angst. **

Barry's eyelids flipped open, and he instinctively shot his head up, slamming it into something hard in front of his head in the process. He laid back down, rubbing his forehead. _Where was he? _He looked around the small, dark space he was stuck in.

He couldn't see that much, but there was quite a bit of brown and black above him. He tried to stretch his arms to his sides, but they didn't make it very far out. He then stretched an arm above his head, and since he was lying down, he soon felt a wall.

Barry tried to stand up, and he made it up, but he felt nothing but walls and bumps around him. He seemed to not have much room at all. "Hello?" Barry called out. His head hurt a bit, his side was also burning for whatever reason, and he felt a pang in his chest, but it could be worse. That's what Barry always told himself. It could be worse. However, the pain in his side that has now moved to his chest was begging to differ.

"Ugh! I just, he's keeping something from me, and I doubt it's anything mild if he won't tell me about it," Iris ranted, crossing her legs over her arm chair as she sat in her home. Her father sat on the red couch across from her, and he raised his hands slightly in surrender.

"Well, sweetheart," He started, choosing his words carefully and lowering his hands. "Maybe it's something too personal. I'm sure there are things you know about yourself that you wouldn't tell anybody else."

Iris scoffed. "Dad, I said 'not mild.' Something's going on with him, and I think it's something bad." She said worriedly.

Joe frowned. Iris was always so stubborn. He knew about Barry's alter ego, but Iris did not, which complicated pretty much everything in his and Barry's life. But they did it to keep her safe.

"Iris... If you really feel as though something is wrong... Maybe you should just ask him," he advised. Iris nodded, slowly at first, then vigorously. "Ya! You know what, I'm gonna do that," she said, taking out her phone and dialling Barry's number.

Joe took a sip of his coffee, then waited for Iris to start demanding Barry to meet up with her. He felt bad for Barry, and he absolutely did not want Iris to find out his secret.

"... His phones not on," Iris said, sounding worried. Joes put down his coffee, now also worried. Barry never, ever, turns off his phone, and he barely ever forgets to charge it either, so it shouldn't die unless he breaks it, which shouldn't happen unless he is hurt.

Iris looked at her father, then back to the phone. "I'm gonna go look for him." She said, standing up and walking to the front door. "Iris, wait." Joe called after her.

Iris already had one shoe on, but she stopped and turned to look at her father. A silence over took them for a few moments before Joe spoke again. "Maybe you'd better sit this one out. Barry can handle himself, you know."

Iris stared at her father angrily, and then she slipped on her other shoe and left the house.

Joe sighed. Barry was probably fine, so why did he have such a sinking feeling in his gut? He pulled out his phone and, after typing in his password, phoned Dr. Wells.

"_Hello?"_

"Hello, Dr. Wells. Have you seen Barry?"

_"Barry? No, not recently, but Cisco told me that he was going to introduce him to the new Metahuman we met, Martha. Don't worry though, she seems very kind, and I felt nothing bad about her, nor did Cisco or Caitlin. Why? Is everything all right?"_

"So you don't know where he is?"

_"Well, not currently. Is something going on?"_

"No. No, probably not, everything is probably fine, I just... I have a bad feeling and I want to be sure."

...

_"Okay. Well, I'll look around for you, Joe. Try calling Caitlin or Cisco. They might know." _

"... Okay. Thanks, Wells," Joe said, then hung up the phone and sighed. He then called Cisco, who then explained Barry's situation.

"So, you let Barry go visit this unknown Metahuman with a barely known Metahuman all alone without his suit and he doesn't even know you followed him?"

...

_"Pretty much, sir. We were gonna call to see how he is in a little bit,"_ Cisco told him.

"You can't, his phones off," Joe told him, rubbing his eyes. Everything is fine, he told himself. Everything is fine.

_"Okay, well, we'll see what we can do,"_ Cisco told him, then turned his phone off. Joe put his phone away. He really hoped Barry was okay. He probably was. It didn't feel like he was, though._ Where was he?_

Barry clutched at his chest, lying back down on the hard floor. It had started to really burn since he woke, and Barry wasn't sure why. Was he injured? Doesn't he heal quickly? Barry took in a deep breath. He stretched out his two hands to his side, and they only made it halfway out before hitting the wall. Barry was going to make his hands move extremely fast to try and see if the place he was seemingly stuck in was stuck to a wall, like a closet, or if he was in a wardrobe kind of space. Also, moving his hands against the sides of the walls really fast will make one side wobble if he was stuck in a closet like space, since one side will be a door. This was his way of finding out which wall to break down if he could figure out a way how.

He started to shake his hands rapidly, but the speed in his hands fleetingly died out. Barry pulled his hand back to him and stared at them in confusion. He tried to make his hands move quickly again, but the speed died out after a moment or two, and all of the sudden the pain in his chest spread to his hands.

He gasped in pain and grunted as his hands started to burn, and his chest wasn't giving up either. Barry could barely curl himself into a ball in the tight space he was stuck in. He could feel his feet and back touching the sides of the enclosure.

He felt like his body was on fire, as though the fire was a disease, starting in his chest and spreading throughout his body. His arms were now being attacked by this burning disease, but his legs and feet have started to feel an ache as well.

Barry tried not to move. Whenever your really, really sick, it's always better not to move around and to be quiet so that the body can still itself instead of pulsing like a vein in a very angry, mentally-challenged coach officer.

Everything hurt now. Even his head had started to make rhythmic pangs. His nose was running, and he was barely aware of the few tears slowly running down his cheek. Everything burned, and all he felt was pain, _pain,_ _**pain. **_

"Help," Barry whispered to no one.

"Okay, should we go in?" Cisco asked a few moments after he hung up on Joe.

"What, into the apartment?" Caitlin asked, lifting her head up from where it was resting on her arms, which were curled around her legs. Caitlin looked at her watch. "Well, I guess he has been in there for eight hours now. _Jesus,_ we've been in here for a while, excluding the naps and the trips to_ Tim Hortons._"

Cisco nodded, shoving his phone into his pocket. "Barry never turns his phone off. _Ever," _he said. "He's always too worried something bad will happen and someone'll try and call him for help, and his phone will be off."

Caitlin stared at him. "How do you know that? He might just be worried Iris will want to talk to him and his phone'll be off."

"Maybe it's both," he said. Then he shrugged and restated his question; "So? Should we go in?"

Caitlin thought for a moment, then nodded, opening her door and stepping out into the nighttime air. Cisco followed in suit, and just as he was stepping out of car, they saw Martha and another man open the apartment door and walk outside. Cisco and Caitlin scrambled to get back inside the car, their hearts racing as Cisco started murmuring 'shit' underneath his breath. They watched from in the car as Martha and the other man turned left and away from the building, waiting a good while before they spoke again.

"Barry wasn't with them," Caitlin observed worriedly. Cisco nodded. "Maybe he just left out the fire door?" He asked. Caitlin shook her head."Doubt it." She looked down. "Ya. We should go in now."

They once more proceeded to leave the car, locking it and approaching the yellow apartment. "We need a code to get inside," Caitlin observed, her eyes scanning the apartments access key.

She went to press the channel button, but then realized that they didn't know what number the house Martha and Barry went into was. When she told Cisco the problem, he looked sad.

"Um." Cisco started. "So what now? Were supposed to be geniuses, and we can't even figure out how to get into an apartment."

Caitlin thought for a moment before she pressed a random Chanel number.

For a long moment of disappointment, nothing happened. Then a mans voice came onto the intercom. "_Hello?"_ It spoke. The voice was gravelly and husky. _"Who is this?" _

"Oh, um, well... It's a funny story, really," Caitlin started, making a fake, nervous cough. "I was going over to my friend Martha's house to drop off her phone," Cate held up her phone, "When I realized she isn't home, and I can't remember her room number. Could you let us inside?" She asked, using her best innocent voice she could. She was lucky the intercom didn't have a camera connected to go with it, otherwise the man she was conning would see Cisco making _ugh_ faces and shaking his head behind her.

There was another long pause before the door made an _eueeeeeegh_ sound and it clicked itself unlocked.

"Thank you, Sir!" Caitlin thanked. The man grunted before replying. _"Martha is two doors up from me, in room 113, and she shares that room with her roommate Tim I do believe, so you can see if he's home."_ The man provided before shutting off his intercom.

"Tim?" Cisco restated. "That's the guy Martha was with, I think. So, were in, we know the number, that all fine and dandy, but I didn't bring my 'break-in' supplies, so how do we get into the room?"

Caitlin smirked. She pulled a bobby pin out from her pocket. "With this," she said.

The pain was numbing. At this point, he could barely feel anything. He was grateful for that.

Slowly, he lifted his hand up from where it was curled around his stomach. He brought it up to his forehead and pressed it against his skin. His forehead felt extremely hot.

He removed his hand, attempting to move them speedy-like again. However, this time, his hand only moved at a normal speed, swinging slightly back and forth. He put his hand back down and another tear slid down his cheek. His physical pain was mostly gone now, but now it was a different kind of pain haunting him.

His powers were gone. His healing, his speed, gone. At least the pain was too. Mostly, anyways. His head was still pounding up a storm, and that didn't seem to subsiding like the rest of his pain. He also was trapped. The walls around him were seemingly smaller then ever, and he could feel himself becoming slightly claustrophobic.

He tried to collect his thoughts. What the hell happened to him? He didn't remember anything from that morning. The last thing he remembered was going into work that morning, and getting a phone call from Caitlin. He didn't remember what the call was about. He also didn't remember anything after that. He remembered Iris, but without context.

Did someone drug him? Did anybody realize he was missing? How long has he been missing for? It felt like days, but Barry doubted it.

The silence was killing him. There was no sound, no wind, no light. He could barely see, but if light was coming in, he wouldn't be able to tell.

Sucking in another deep breath, he tried to stand up again. He made it halfway up before his head started to really become a nuisance, and he fell back down onto his legs, stuck in a kneeling position with his hands cradling his head. What was happening to him? His powers weren't working, he was in an on and off cycle of pain, his muscles were sore, and he could barely even stand up.

He stayed in that pose for a few moments before trying to get up again, very slowly rising from his position and holding onto the walls that were far to close to him. When he made it up, he tried to figure out which of the side walls were a possible exit, if any. His head was hurting to the point where he wanted to cry out, but he stuck with a painful grunt instead. His hands ran along each sides of the walls. One side felt like dry wall, and the other felt more wooden. He presumed the wooden side was a door, and the dry wall was actually wall. He turned his body to face the wooden wall and pressed his ear against it. Still, he heard nothing.

He wanted to slam into the door, but he felt to weak to do so, and could already feel his body start to shake from standing up.

"Hello?" He called out, his voice hoarse. He cleared his throat. "Hello?" He repeated. He could feel his muscles burning, and his head was making him feel dizzy.

He tried to ignore the pain, but it got to a point. He lied back down slowly and waited for his head to calm down.

Then he heard something.

A small shifting noise coming from further outside the space Barry was stuck in. Then the shifting noise turned into a click, and he heard a faint voice go, "Ah-Ha!"

Then the sound of a door opening occurred, and footsteps proceeded. Then it went quiet.

"Barry?" A familiar female voice called out, followed by more footsteps.

Caitlin? Barry thought. He felt a wave of relief. Despite his weakness, he tried to get up and call out, but the attempt ended quickly when a sharp, stabbing pain pushed his way back into his chest. Barry gasped out in pain, falling back down with a thump and feeling his face flush. Help, he thought to himself desperately.

Caitlin must have heard the thump, because she then called out, "Barry?" Again, but louder this time, indicting she had walked towards the noise.

Barry felt heat spread through his body. He clenched his teeth, trying to to cry out, knowing now that Caitlin was standing outside. The presumed door shook, and he heard scraping noises before the door opened, allowing burning light into the enclosed space. Caitlin and Cisco were standing outside the door, Caitlin with a shocked and horrified expression plastered to her face, and Cisco mirroring her expression.

Caitlin dropped down beside Barry, who was lying curled almost into a ball on the floor, now covering his eyes with one arm to block the light. He probably looked as bad as he felt. His whole body felt as though it was on fire, but he tried not to let his pain show, not just to avoid looking weak, but also to prove to himself that he wasn't weak. It could be worse, he told himself. Right now, he didn't believe it.

"Oh my God, Barry?" Caitlin spoke frantically, trying to help Barry. "Jesus Christ," Cisco breathed, his voice small.

Barry removed the arm that was strewn across his face, revealing his bloodshot and puffy eyes. He squinted due to the light, but he wanted to see what was going on around him. He saw Caitlin's worried and scared face hovering above him, now holding his head up from where he lay. She was trying to pull him up slightly, but Barry's head and body hurt to much to want to stand. Caitlin looked at Cisco with a pleading expression, and Cisco understood immediately, kneeling down beside her to try and lift Barry up. As soon as they got him to stand, he felt his legs buckle beneath him,and he tried to curl himself back into a protective ball to ease the pain in his chest. His whole body burned, and he just wanted to lay down again.

He could feel Caitlin and Cisco try and get a better grip on him. Caitlin kept on saying soothing words, and Cisco was saying something as well, but Barry couldn't pay attention to what they were saying. He could feel the pain in his head and the burning in his chest and limbs dying out and numbness taking over. After a few forced movements of Caitlin and Cisco pulling him away from his enclosure and towards the door, Barry couldn't feel anything. Then he felt everything. Pain shot all over his body, worse than before. He grunted out loudly in a relatively high pitched moan, the moan forming into a short-lived scream. And then another scream. He heard Caitlin let out a screech in shock, pulling back from him slightly. Cisco, however, tried to call something out to Barry, but he couldn't hear the words being exchanged.

He clenched his teeth and soon the pain burnt out, and with it any feeling left in his body. He saw black spots before his vision faded and he went limp in Caitlin and Cisco's grip.

"Oh my god, Barry? BARRY?!" Caitlin called to him, her hand reaching out to his neck, looking for a pulse. Luckily, she found one, but it was very faint. "Shit, Cisco, he's barely breathing. What the hell happened to him?"

Cisco shook his head, trying to move forward with Barry. "I don't know! Just get him to the car!" He said, his voice panicky. Caitlin rarely swore. She only ever swore when she was in full on rage mode or when she was terrified. Cisco was also terrified for Barry, who was burning to the touch and was clearly in a lot of pain before he passed out. What had happened to him? Doesn't he heal quickly?

Caitlin quickly looked Barry over for any obvious wounds as Cisco opened the apartment door open and they dragged Barry into the hallway.

"I don't see any wounds on him," Caitlin informed Cisco with a shaky voice. Cisco nodded, concentrating on getting Barry down the stairs, which they were now halfway down. Soon they had reached the bottom of the stairs and pushed their way out of the apartments doors. They crossed the street and Cisco unlocked the car, opening the door and gently plopping Barry into he back seat. Cisco crawled in with him and forced him into a sitting position, snapping in his seatbelt before crawling into the drivers seat. He put on his seatbelt and started the car, looking over at Caitlin, who was already strapped in. She had fear in her eyes. Cisco started to drive.

"Hey," Cisco said, staring at the road. His hands were shaking. "It's gonna be okay. We'll figure out what happened to Barry when he wakes up. Right now, you should call Dr. Wells."

Caitlin stared at Cisco with a blank expression. She stared at him for a while, not saying anything, before she silently dug her phone out of her pocket and phoned a familiar number. The phone rung.

_ "Caitlin?"_

"Hi, Dr. Wells. Listen. We, uh, got a problem."

...

_"Caitlin, where's Barry?"_

**So that's it! Yay! Another horrible chapter done! Ugh, I have no faith in myself. But this moved way to quickly, and it felt rushed to me. Idk, was it okay? Please review, or I will forever judge myself badly. One review told me the chapters were to short, so I tried to make it longer. Was it okay? UGH, I feel so bad about this. **


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